Five through to final round of Oxford chancellor vote

Former big beasts of British politics and current University of Oxford leaders have progressed to the final round of the race to elect the institution’s new chancellor.

Lord Hague of Richmond, Lord Mandelson, Dominic Grieve, Lady Elish Angiolini and Baroness Royall of Blaisdon are shortlisted to progress to the next round of voting, due to commence the week of 18 November.

More than 23,000 university staff and alumni voted in the election’s first round, which whittled down the shortlist from 38 candidates to replace Lord Patten of Barnes, who is retiring at the end of 2024-25 after 21 years in role.

The inclusion of former Conservative Party leader Lord Hague, former business secretary Lord Mandelson and ex-attorney general Mr Grieve means the race is dominated by erstwhile political heavyweights. Baroness Royall was leader of the House of Lords during Gordon Brown’s premiership and is now principal of Somerville College, Oxford.

Lady Elish is principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford and a former lord advocate of Scotland, who chaired the inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens.

The latest results mean Lord Willetts, former universities minister and president of the Resolution Foundation; and Margaret Casely-Hayford, chancellor of Coventry University, have been knocked out of the competition.

The election made headlines after Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan who is imprisoned on corruption charges, applied for the role, alongside far-fetched bids from Oxford alumni and current students. 

Both Lord Hague and Lord Mandelson established their commitment to protecting free speech in their application statements, while Lady Elish and Baroness Royall stressed their current contributions to the university, and Mr Grieve underlined his role as reviewer of the governance of Christ Church, Oxford.

The final results will be announced in the week of 25 November.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com